Would someone recommend a good photo editer slash GIF maker?

[Kritish]

Greets, I've got an XP and I was wondering if someone could recommend some software for making avatars and such? Freeware would be best, if there is such a thing.

 

[Drakon]

Well, I think it somewhat depends on what you wanna do. If you're looking for video avatars or simple animations, ULEAD is probably what you're looking for. Though, I personally like Imageready/Photoshop.

 

[webhead731]

Yes, Imageready is what I use.

 

[Kritish]

Update: I just used torrents to get ULEAD, it works like a charm. Thanks to the people who helped me in here.